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Who's John Gillis?

If any of you are as big a nerd as I am, you were probably wondering the same thing. Well, whoever the mystery man is, he’s scheduled to perform a solo performance in the Garden Bowl, June 3, as part of the Living Room Sessions, a new night of live music hosted in the bar by the ever-energetic Garden Bowl bartender, Ko. OK, I’m lying. I know who it is. And I just can’t keep a secret. Well, here’s a hint. I hear it’s a pseudonym for a certain very recent MT cover boy. Oh, by the way, guess who’s going to be spinning as a guest DJ in the Garden Bowl that night as part of another new night called Hi-Fi? No pseudonym here: It’s Meg White of the White Stripes. Hmmmm. Should be a good time. The Garden Bowl is part of the Majestic Theatre Complex, 4140 Woodward in Detroit. Call 313-833-9700.

BENEFIT

Regular readers know that I’m a fan of Trumbullplex, the anarchist housing collective and community space that hosts bands, performance art, film and lots of other cool stuff at 4210 Trumbull Ave. (313-832-7952), Detroit. Well, I’m not the only one. On Thursday (May 31), Binary Star, Ayro, Scott Coleman, Korie and Shatterproof will perform at St. Andrew’s Hall (431 E. Congress in Detroit, 313-961-MELT). The show, called Active Resistance Passionate Existence, will benefit Trumbullplex as well as the 433 Foundation (a Toledo organization devoted to land reclamation), Toledo-based Clamour Magazine and the Detroit Coalition to Stop the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. A few of the performers in the mostly electronic lineup will be performing at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival the weekend before. And it’s a good cause.

RELEASE ME

Italy Records is putting out the Whirlwind Heat album and the release party this Friday (June 1) at Gold Dollar is shaping up to be a synth-spazz, fuzz-garbage celebration of some of the most sincere garage rock and quirk pop our city has to offer. For one, Italy’s Dave and John are going to DJ. And secondly, They Come In Threes is opening. The party should provide a nice transition from the DEMF the weekend before to rock with two bands that infuse traditional instruments with wired technology. Now all we need is a CD release party for the new TCIT record, Blindsided Pt. 1, which will finally be coming out on Fall of Rome Records at the end of the summer. A tour should follow in early fall.

FORGIVE ME

Hey, get this, I found out some great news, sadly post-paper-to-printer two weeks ago. When I said something about Morsel’s new album, Para Siempre, coming out after the band called it quits, what I should have said is: “Morsel (pictured) hasn’t called it quits!” Yes, there was a bit of a fuzzy time period where the band didn’t play any shows, but they finished the album in March at Rustbelt Studios, after recording the majority of it at Company in Ann Arbor, and it will come out in July on Small Stone Records. They probably won’t get back into the show-a-month routine again, but they do plan to play out. “Ironically, we’re at the best point right now for opportunities, probably because we weren’t looking for them,” says Be Hussy of Morsel, a band that’s been putting out some of the most original music in the state since 1994. And Para Siempre might be the best work they’ve accomplished so far.